Forewarned is Forearmed
by RhoGlass
Summary: (Forearmed is also forearmed, but try telling that to meddling witches and impossible younger sisters!) When the Fellowship find a girl alone, ensorcelled and vulnerable in the wilds of Hollin they have little choice but to bring her with them. When she wakes they find that she was intended for them to find all along. Tenth Walker. GiME.
1. Chapter 1

**Forewarned is Forearmed**

**Chapter One**

**Disclaimer:** I don't own the Lord of the Rings.

* * *

They were packing up the camp, scattering the remnants of the fire and rolling up bedrolls and cloaks alike as the afternoon promised to be fair, the sun already warming the air far more than was usual for early November.

They were mostly prepared, Bill had been reburdened and the hobbits had broken their fast with some of the hard journey bread and pressed bars of dried fruit and honeyed oats provided in abundance by the kitchens of Rivendell.

There was just one of their party yet unaccounted for.

"And where is that blasted elf?" demanded Gimli, joining Aragorn on the rocky outcrop that had served as their watch post the following night.

"Legolas woke early and left to scout the path ahead a bit."

"And left us waiting on his whim to set forth this morning," the dwarf grumbled.

"Has Legolas not yet returned?" asked Boromir—who'd taken the first watch—his brow creasing as he peered into the scrub brush and thinning evergreens.

"Not yet," said Aragorn grimly, "I am worried, I confess. He knew when we were meant to depart and he would not have tarried without a reason—"

"And you fear that reason is that something ill has befallen him," finished Boromir, frowning.

Aragorn inclined his head in agreement, letting his hand drop to the hilt of his sword as he scanned the forest again, searching for the flash of white-gold that would herald his friend's return.

It was Gandalf that spotted him first though as the elf approached from entirely the opposite direction, back from the way they'd come.

"There you are," announced the wizard, "We were beginning to wonder if you'd wandered off on us."

Aragorn turned at the familiar sound of Legolas' laughter.

"Not so, Mithrandir," he answered, "But I do seem to have stumbled across a slight problem."

Gandalf's bushy eyebrows crept up into his hairline as Legolas left the cover of the denser thicket of trees and brush.

There was a girl, bound hand and foot with a bit of rope and apparently unconscious, slung over his shoulder like a sack of potatoes.

"What is this?" asked Gandalf, as Legolas set her, not ungently on the forest floor.

"A daughter of man, to be sure, though not one garbed in any manner with which I am familiar," answered Legolas, "I found her just a few hundred yards hence, laying splayed across a bit of rock. At first I thought her injured, but there is no mark nor wound upon her, yet nothing I have attempted has been sufficient to rouse her, so I cannot say that she is but sleeping."

"Most curious," said Gandalf, kneeling down a bit and feeling at the girl's head.

Aragorn examined Legolas' discovery, surprised to find that he also had no notion of where she might be from, strangely garbed as she was.

The girl was not large in frame, Aragorn estimated that she wouldn't stand more than a few inches taller than Gimli, but she appeared to have fully grown at least. She was as swarthy as any of the men of the south or the mixed-breed Dalefolk and her hair was dark, soft-looking and left unbound. It had tangled with the greenery and a forest's worth of leaves and twigs stuck fast to the curls and there was a bit of mud smudged on her face. Still she was comely, fine-featured and in possession of a shapely figure.

"And what in Mahal's name were you thinking bringing her back here?" demanded Gimli, breaking Aragorn out of his thoughts.

He had his long-handled axe in hand and rapped it sharply against the ground to illustrate his displeasure.

Legolas turned a chilly glare upon the dwarf—even after their long weeks of forced company on the road the two could still barely tolerate each other.

"It seemed the only choice left to me. I searched awhile for a village or a settlement that might know of her, or at least take her from me, but as well you know we chose our route to take us well away from any holding of elves, men or dwarves and I found no one. Not even another camp, and so was forced to return with her."

"What's wrong with her?" asked Merry, curiously, creeping a bit closer.

"Some form of sorcery I should imagine," sighed Gandalf rising, "Though I cannot detect the taint of the Enemy upon her I am not familiar with this kind of spellwork."

"Does that mean that you can't fix her?" asked Pippin, frowning.

"It means that I need to think on it awhile before I attempt anything rash, Peregrin Took," said Gandalf sharply before turning on Legolas, "It speaks well of your nobility Legolas Greenleaf that you would not leave her too her fate, unfortunately we have not the luxury for an overabundance of nobility in these dark times. The quest must take precedence."

Legolas' mouth tightened faintly at the corners, and after a moment he gave Gandalf a stiffly formal nod, "I apologize, Mithrandir. I did not think."

"We cannot just leave her!" protested Boromir immediately and vociferously, "The wilds are dangerous enough for a traveler alone, leaving aside the fact that so-ensorcelled she could not lift a hand to defend herself from poisoned oak let alone anything more sinister."

"I will not allow my actions to burden the company further. I will take responsibility for her care and safety," said Legolas, his tone still clipped.

Gandalf waved him off impatiently, "It is done. In the future though I'd ask that you not take in hapless strays, we must hold fast to our purpose and allow no delay. We'll not slow for you Legolas, mark me now."

"As you say," agreed Legolas, with another stiff nod.

"Good, good," said the wizard, moving forward purposefully,"Now, I believe we have lingered here quite long enough, the sun is fully risen and we've yet to start our travels."

The fellowship gathered up their packs and followed after Gandalf promptly, not wanting to risk the wizard's bad temper.

Legolas bent and picked up the girl again, settling her over the opposite shoulder to the one that held his bow.

"If she wakes she'll not thank you for the rough ride," Aragorn said wryly, falling into step with his friend as the girl swayed and bounced, limp and unresisting.

"I know, yet I would not further burden Bill as he has the bulk of our gear upon his back and bears it without complaint."

"You are hardly a pony, _mellon nîn_," Aragorn pointed out, "If you tire I can bear her for a spell."

"And I," Boromir put in, "You need only ask."

That brought a faint smile to Legolas' face, "My thanks, but the load is light compared to some I have borne, I think I shan't tire so quickly."

Gimli snorted at that, "It's yet a wonder to me that you bear up under the weight of your own weapon Master Elf, as stretched and thin as you appear. But, aye, I'll offer you my own back for when yours tires."

"And have the lady take an injury with her head knocking upon the ground? I think not Master Dwarf," Legolas shot back, his glare positively frigid.

Aragorn would wager that he didn't appreciate being called stretched out anymore than Gimli appreciated being called short.

Boromir shook his head, the two of them sharing a commiserating look behind the backs of their fellows, and gave Legolas a wordless but approving clap on the shoulder, then he hefted his great shield higher up on his shoulder and jogged for a few steps to fall into place behind Merry and Pippin.

"I will take the front," Aragorn said, lengthening his stride to move ahead to Legolas' customary spot, ranging ahead scouting the trail, leaving Legolas to the rear-guard to keep his sharp ears pricked for danger following behind.

* * *

**AN: **Hello and welcome to the story! Before you venture any further there are a few things that I'm sure readers would like to be aware of...

1\. This story will be a good mix of movie and book verse events but I will tend to rely on the movie aspects or deviate from canon entirely either based on the premise of the story or where I want to add dramatic flair (therefore this is perhaps not a good story for the Tolkien purists among you)

2\. I am going to be using an alternating POV and we will be spending as much time in the heads of the fellowship as with my OC

3\. I am not 100% settled on the pairings, so if you have a suggestion feel free to let me know, but I do have a preference in mind already for the main romance (I want to leave it a surprise and let the relationships develop organically but if you absolutely have to know the pairings I'm leaning towards for whatever reason you can feel free to ask in a review or PM)

4\. The story is rated M primarily for graphic descriptions of violence and potentially disturbing topics (for which I will attempt to add chapter specific warnings) but there may be sexual situations farther down the line (which I will also clearly mark out for those who want to avoid them).

5\. Lastly, I hope you find that my OC is well-rounded and engaging but if at any point I stray too far into Mary-Sue territory please feel obligated to sound the alarms, light the beacons, and use whatever methods are to your liking to show me the error of my ways.

Well, hopefully that covers everything! I'll try not to be so long-winded in the future. In the meantime though, thanks for taking the time to read! I welcome any and all suggestions, questions, comments, or criticisms :)

-Rho


	2. Chapter 2

**Forewarned is Forearmed**

**Chapter Two**

* * *

Jody started awake with a great gasp of air, feeling like she'd spent too much time holding her breath underwater, and immediately began to cough and choke on it.

Someone behind her propped her up, murmuring soothing words and rubbing at her back as the fit brought tears to her eyes, and left her exhausted, her throat raw.

A waterskin came into her watery purview and she snatched it up gratefully, the cool water soothing on the abused tissues of her throat.

Once she'd taken a few breaths and managed to dash most of the moisture from her eyes Jody took her first proper look around and stiffened slightly.

She was ringed by curious strangers, all of varying shapes, sizes, and levels of wariness. And although she'd never met any of the nine arrayed around her she knew them from the books and tales she and her sisters had grown up with. They were the Fellowship of the Ring.

"There now my dear," said Gandalf, "You're alright now, just get your breath back."

The Westron words echoed back at her, rearranging in her mind until they made sense to her under the all-speech. Jody heaved a sigh, shaking her head slightly as if that could rattle the gift of tongues into better reception.

"I am being well now," she said carefully.

Her thick accent definitely raised the wizard's bushy grey eyebrows, "That's good," he said at last, "You had a powerful enchantment set upon you but I was able to reverse it with a bit of luck and effort. Tell me, my dear, how did you come to be in the wilds of Hollin?"

Jody opened her mouth and then closed it again, frowning. How, after all, was she meant to explain the complexities that had led to her presence in Arda? After a long moment she continued choosing her words carefully.

"I am not for this world. I know things about quest, my world has books and pictures and they are telling story. Was sent by witches to help. I am, how you say, gift for you, I am thinking," she said, shrugging, "I am here to help you. This I know."

The all-speak wasn't a perfect translation but Jody thought she'd got her message across at least if the uproar of murmuring, too fast for her to understand more than snatches, was any indicator.

"Enough!" snapped Gandalf finally, silencing the company, "That is quite enough. Now, young miss, I'll have your name if you please, and some proof of your words. And be warned, I shall know if you attempt to play us false."

"I am called Jody," she said, with a shrug, "Jody Clarke. I can tell many things to you. What kinds of things have you wish to know?"

Gandalf eyed her, somewhat suspiciously, somewhat curiously, "Perhaps you can settle a debate for us then, young lady, we are approaching the middle of the thirty seventh day of our quest and we have come to a cross-roads, we may continue to the Gap of Rohan, attempt to take the Redhorn Pass to the Dimrill Stair, or go under the mountains through the ancient dwarf kingdom of Moria."

Jody glanced around her, gratified to see that they were camped on a scrubbly hillside in a familiar tumble of white stones, ringed her and there with autumn bare holly bushes.

"You think to be spending time here, to rest. Is no good. Saruman watches," she started out saying, "In this place his bird spies, big flock of crebain, see you and you know that Gap of Rohan is no good, too close to Isengard. You try to go over mountain fast but Saruman makes magic snow, magic lighting, wakes the mountain and you cannot reach other side, you know you can die of frozen firstly. Moria is only road for you after this much, but, go you there and this balrog of Morgoth you must face. Durin's bane is woke."

That set the whole Fellowship muttering again, the hobbits, save Frodo making up the bulk of this with their confused questions, but Gimli had paled under his beard at the mention of the balrog, or more likely at the implications of a balrog.

"You are sure of this sorceress? Durin's bane yet lives?" he demanded, his grip white-knuckled on his axe.

"Am not sorceress, I is not having of magics, but yes. It is known."

"That is interesting and somewhat ill news indeed," said Gandalf, "And I have some reason to believe that, in the matter of the balrog at least, this girl speaks truly."

"Which does not mean that she speaks truly in all matters," Aragorn pointed out.

"No indeed. You are not of this world, there is no reason why you should be moved to bring us this foreknowledge. Which begs the question, why are you here?" and the old wizard suddenly didn't look so old anymore, more timeless, his stare piercing and enfolding all at once, a decidedly odd sensation and one that Jody found more than a little uncomfortable.

"_I volunteered as tribute_," she said, her lips twisting wryly.

"In Westron if you please, my dear."

Jody sighed, furrowing her brow as she attempted to find the right words.

"Many wish to come here, to make quest. My baby sisters too," Jody started, "Many peoples they don't have witch who owes big debt, my sisters are having this. This witch is saying she will be granting these wishes but my baby sisters is not knowing for what they ask. They is too small for fighting, or helping, they is being too small to leave from our home forever—our mother will be being worried, I will be being worried—so I am asking witch to send me instead, and witch is saying yes." Jody offered them another shrug, "When I was small I was also wanting to some to this place a little, was a favourite story, some kind of gloriful grand adventure. I have always been thinking some things that happen are not fair, some deaths are not, how you say, having of some purpose? I don't mind that I will be the one to try to fix."

"If what you've said is true, and I see no lie in your eyes, you are very loyal, and also very foolish," Gandalf concluded shaking his head, "A pair of traits that you will find in abundance among our company."

"You cannot mean to trust her at her word," said Boromir, incredulous.

"Certainly not," said Gandalf, "However, she has given me much to think on and think on it I shall. Aid unlooked for should never be overlooked, for even the very wise cannot see all that is to come."

"That's all well and goodly said, Mr. Gandalf, sir, but if we're to be doing some heavy thinking we'd do it better with some food in the belly, if you don't mind me saying so."

"Certainly not Samwise," said Gandalf, his eyes twinkling with amusement, "I believe a repast would be welcome."

That seemed to be the signal for the rest of the Fellowship to, well, uncongregate, and set up a temporary camp.

Gimli and Aragorn helped Sam to gather some dry branches and bits of bracken to light a small, relatively smokeless fire, while Boromir loosened Bill's girth and asked if Merry and Pippin wanted to continue their lessons. Frodo started unpacking ingredients, sausages and some form of girdle cake, his expression wan and a bit troubled.

Gandalf settled himself atop one of the rocks and lit his pipe, puffing on it thoughtfully, and Legolas, well, Legolas stayed within arm's reach, clearly keeping an eye on her but also checking his arrows over carefully for damage, though Jody knew they'd yet to be in any battles and so they were probably all pristine.

Jody settled onto her spot on the rock as best as she could. Her whole body ached faintly and her wrists were itchy where she'd, presumably, been tied up, and she wasn't about to turn her nose up at a rest break.

She was glad to see that no one had thought to take the small belt pouch away from her. It wasn't much, just a small boon from the witch, but it was bigger inside then it looked and contained provisions, a printed map of Middle-Earth, and most importantly (in Jody's mind anyway) hygiene and first aid supplies. They had taken the wicked looking knife that she didn't know how to use for anything more violent than deboneing chicken, but she wasn't exactly surprised by that observation. She expected she'd get it back eventually.

A bar of pressed fruit, a sausage and a bit of hardtack were pressed into her hands by Sam, with the instructions to, "Eat up while we've got the chance miss."

Finding that she was insanely hungry she bolted them down with more enthusiasm and less table manners then she might have otherwise employed, and then leaned back on the sun-warmed rock to watch the hobbits and Boromir train at swordplay.

"They are learning blocking?" she asked Legolas, casually, studying the forms that the man of Gondor was showing them.

"Yes," agreed Legolas, not looking up from his task, "But surely you knew that."

Jody shrugged.

"I was thinking that it was so, but I am not knowing much about fighting with swords," then, because she thought that she probably would need to clarify eventually, "I don't know all this things, only some things. Big important things."

"Sometimes it is the small details that make the greatest differences," Legolas pointed out, finally looking up at her.

She was a little surprised to see that his eyes were a very pale grey, a startlingly pale grey; although she probably shouldn't have been given that the elf bore almost no resemblance to the illustrious Orlando Bloom.

"Sometimes," agreed Jody, "But is better to have some knowing then no knowing, yes?"

"Perhaps, and perhaps not."

He turned back to his arrows then, and Jody continued to amuse herself by watching the hobbits and the men.

"Get away from the blade, Pippin, two—one—five—" Boromir called out, running the dark haired hobbit through the same set of paces they'd been running through all afternoon.

"Move your feet," called Aragorn around the stem of his pipe.

"Again, try to centre your weight on the balls of your feet, so you can move more quickly, two—one—five –good, very good."

"That's not bad, Pippin," said Merry.

"Thanks," said Pippin, a bit out of breath.

"Merry, your turn, now I want you to react, not think. There's precious little time for thinking in a real fight. Sword up, now, two—one—five!"

The swords made muted little scraping sounds as they struck each other, an easy rhythm of clack—click—click.

"Faster!" called Boromir, "Two—one—five!"

"Watch," Jody said, nudging Legolas to get his attention, "Here Boromir hits Pippin, and this hobbits attack."

Even as she said it, Boromir's lunge caught Pippin's hand between the flat of his longsword and the hilt of Pippin's little blade.

"Ouch!"

"Sorry! Are you—ack!"

Pippin left off with the blade, and kicked Boromir soundly in the shin instead.

"Get him!"

"For the Shire!" cried Merry, tackling the man to the ground while Boromir attempted to keep from accidentally slicing them with his sword.

"Hold him! Hold him down!"

Aragorn stood to join the fray and found his feet taken out from under him in short order. Legolas shot her a narrow-eyed look, hopping to his feet.

"Look to sky," Jody told him, "This crows is coming."

Then, not wanting to have to scramble for a hiding spot she slid off the back end of her rock, and slithered under one of the holly bushes, pressing as close to the trunk as she could manage and closing her eyes, in an attempt to make herself calmer and stiller.

It didn't actually work that well, her heart was pounding double-time in her chest and there was an anxious squeezing sensation building in her gut even as she attempted to control her breathing.

"It is as the girl said," Legolas called out to the group, "There on the horizon! 'Tis no bit of cloud but a great flock of crebain out of Dunland and Fangorn!"

"Hide!" snapped Aragorn, "Sam, douse that fire! Everyone, take cover!"

"Merry, Pippin, under here!"

There was a flurry of noise as the fire was kicked out, and the fellowship scrambled for their belongings, ducking into the lee of stones as shrubs, before lying flat and still.

For a moment it was silent in the camp, and then overhead there was a great loud caw, just one at first and then two or perhaps three, and the sound of a great many flapping wings. Jody risked opening one eye a slit, and looking up through the branches of her bush she could see that the flock was large enough to cast a great shadow over the area as it made a wide circle around the camp and then continued on, south and east, Jody thought, towards the Misty Mountains.

Still it was a long while before anyone crept from their hiding places, arraying themselves in a semi-circle around the remains of the fire.

"Even if we were not seen, and there is no guarantee of that, they will know we have passed this way and Saruman will guess our minds," said Gandalf, thoughtfully.

"That was but a regiment, a scouting party ranging away from the main body of the flock," added Aragorn, pointing to the black smudge on the horizon, "Look there, I would venture to guess they patrol from the Greyflood to the mountains, and those are just the spies we can see. Too have I noticed hawks circling overhead in pairs or threes, and thought it strange. We are looked for. We must move again as soon as the sun is set, and quickly, and after this afternoon we cannot risk another fire, it was only luck that kept the fire from smoking and alerting the birds to our presence."

"So the lass tell the truth of it," said Gimli, "The bleeding birds will go croaking and cawing to the white wizard with our whereabouts."

"Saruman will have long-since guessed my purpose in bringing Frodo and the Ring to Rivendell, I believe, and there are only so many ways into the south and Orthanc is in a key position to monitor them all," Gandalf said wearily, "Never have I made a less timely enemy."

"So, what are we going to do?" asked Merry, boldly, "Are we going to go through that Moria place?"

"I believe so," said Gandalf, his gaze falling on Jody again, "If what our young seeress says is true it is a waste of time and energy to do otherwise. If we are to have any chance at giving Saruman the slip it will be necessary to enter the mines as quickly as possible."

"Do we trust the word of an ensorcelled stranger in this matter, Gandalf?" demanded Boromir, "Not two days past you were counselling that we must put the quest before aught else."

"And so I am Boromir," snapped Gandalf, "Or has it slipped your mind that she told us of the crebain?"

"She also made an accurate prediction of the scuffle between the hobbits and yourself," added Legolas, "And directed my lapsed attention to the flock."

"None of that means that she's trustworthy," Gimli grumbled, "Merely useful. We might be better off having her tell us the road and leaving her to her own devices."

"Perhaps," agreed Gandalf, "What do you have to say on this matter, my dear? Do you wish to travel with us or attempt to find a safer road?"

Jody thought about it, she could easily tell Gandalf, Frodo and Aragorn a few key pieces of information and then use her map to try and make it back to Rivendell on her own. That was probably a smart plan, for everyone involved. Sure there were warg packs and orc warbands roaming the hills but they weren't actively looking for her like they were the Fellowship.

Then again, should she tell them everything? The more they knew the more they'd change and the less certain the outcome of the quest would be. If she went with them she could steer them around danger, evaluating what needed to be said and what could be left to play out as it would. It was a tough decision, and it was the future of more lives than she ever wanted to be burdened with.

Gandalf suggested that they sleep and that she could give them her answer when evening fell and they made to move under the cover of darkness. Jody might have said it was gracious of him if it weren't for the fact that the old coot had Legolas retie her hands before leaving her to sleep as best as she could on the bare rock.

In the end though her answer was simple, she'd set out to steer the Fellowship around some of their impending hardships and they would need more than just her knowledge to preempt the waking of the watcher in the water, Pippin's foolishness in the Mines and Boromir's fall to the will of the Ring, among many other small things.

So with the sun mostly set behind them, the group more rested then they had been but less rested then they had hoped, and the camp thoroughly and properly broken, Jody had Legolas untie her, marched up to Gandalf, and said:

"I will be following to Lothlorien," she announced, "There this Lady Galadriel may tell me if I am to be doing more harm or more good, and I can be deciding if I am wanting to continue on all of we together."

"As you will then," agreed Gandalf, and Jody thought she saw something like approval in his fathomless blue gaze, "Keep up then, my dear, for we will not slow the pace for your sake."

* * *

**AN:** Here we are, chapter two and our first meeting with the OC in question! Hopefully you all enjoyed!

I've taken a somewhat lazy route with the language barrier, I didn't want to ignore it but I also didn't feel like continuing without meaningful dialogue for the bulk of the chapters, so we have Jody's "foreign-girl" accent and manner of speaking. I've somewhat exaggerated the type of problems non-native English speakers often have but I hope it's interesting rather then annoying (well, I trust you'll let me know :))

You all might be interested to know I didn't have a name for Jody until I was more than halfway through writing this chapter and I cycled through a few different ones before settling on this one. (She's named after one of my dad's ex-girlfriends, the one who got me into Lord of the Rings by lending me her copy of the Hobbit).

Anyway, please leave a review (or multiple reviews) with any comments, questions, and criticisms and/or suggestions you might have for plot and relationship development.

Til next time

-Rho

**SHAMELESS SELF PROMOTION: **If you enjoy GiME and Fili/OC romance you should go read my the Hobbit fic, The Lion, the Dwarves and the Hobbit!


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